Tuck, who spent the first nine years of his career with the Giants before signing with the Oakland Raiders in March, fully expected to return to the only team he’d ever known when he became a free agent after last season.

“To answer your question, I am still surprised I’m not a New York Giant,” Tuck told The Star-Ledger on Monday.

One of the stranger things for Tuck about moving out west has been the reaction he’s gotten from Giants fans, who watched their team decline to match the two-year, $11 million deal he received from the Raiders.

“The only thing weird is when you see Giants fans who have a tendency to tell you how stupid [the team] is,” Tuck said. “Those are their words, not mine. But yeah, it was weird. You spend nine years in one place. You have a lot of success there and a lot of great friends. So yeah, it’s going to be weird, but I understand the business side of things and you need to move forward.”

“I did everything I was supposed to do, the right way,” Tuck said. “It wasn’t meant to be. You don’t hold any grudges, you’re not mad at anyone. Hey, God has put you in a new place. It’s kind of a breath of fresh air to start somewhere new.

“You reminisce the good times and the bad ones you learned from and you try and take that into the next chapter.”